Local Inauguration Celebrations

Published January 20th, 2009

Â Â Â Â Whether celebrating with some dinner at the Hilton in Ocala or with some friends at a barbeque in Williston or even with a civil rights discussion at UF... the point is that people were celebrating, and they haven't stopped since the inauguration.Â Â Â Â "We were sitting there with the TV blazing and my dad's grabbing his wine and we're cheering 'Obama' and we all stand up.Â It was amazing," Veronica Harvey said.Â Â Â Â The celebration was just getting started as Barack Obama was sworn in as our nation's 44th president.... and it lasted most of the day.Â Â Â Â "All colors are coming together," Al Carnegie Sr. said.Â Â In Ocala, people attended the inaugural ball at the Hilton tonight, and they were still talking about the events of earlier today.Â Â Â Â "It was historical, gave me goosebumps and it was the most amazing thing I'd seen," Harvey said.Â Â And in Williston, people camped out last night in tents just so they could wake up and watch the inauguration together this morning.Â Â Â Â "If you look around and see the enthusiasm, people are happy," Carnegie said.Â Â And at UF, many gathered to talk about what Obama's inauguration means to them... and compared President Obama's election to Martin Luther King's legacy.Â Â Â Â "I'm happy to join with you in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration of freedom in the history of our nation," Commission Scherwin Henry, Gainesville City Commission, read.Â Â Â Â Â Many have been looking forward to this day since the election, but others say this is a day they've been waiting for all their lives.Â Â Â Â "I never thought I'd live long enough to see this happen.Â I think it's an indication of growth on the part of the people of this nation," Zoharah Simmons said. Â